MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREENPRINTINGMAG.

COM

UNDER
PRESSURE
30 ways to cope
with anxiety in the
workplace.
TH E BIG STORY

THE POWER
OF PRINT
ON DEMAND
Stoked on Printing thrives on building
and managing online merch stores.

What to learn Cost breakdown The pros and

from Southwest of DTF curing cons of having a
Airlines’ rebrand. options. showroom.
contents MAY + JUNE 2023 | VOLUME 114 | NUMBER 3

PAGE 40 / THE BIG STORY

NEW PRODUCTS
16 LATEST RELEASES
Lawson direct-to-film
powder, Inkcups Helix
2.0 cylindrical printers,
Independent Trading ON THE COVER
youth pullover, and more. Stoked On Printing
recently launched the
official merch store for
COLUMNS Tao Group Hospitality.
20 EMBELLISHED
Learn from the Best
Nicole Pape
Look at businesses outside
the industry for new ideas

30
that can apply to your
screenprintingmag.com
shop, like taking risks,
Where you’ll find extra
networking, and staying
images, videos, insight,
focused.
and inspiration.
TIPS FOR KICKING THOSE
IRRATIONAL THOUGHTS screenprintingmag.

TO THE CURB. com/bulletins

Become a more effective
screen printer by reading
our twice-weekly
newsletters.
54 ART, AD, OR FEATURES
ALCHEMY? 32 Expand With
Cyclists Peddle Screen On Demand
Printing Fundamentals Kelsey Johnson
Andy MacDougall Building online
Julia Murphy, a founding merchandise
member of Pedal Press, stores for
believes screen printing clients has
can offer kids who don’t turned into
ALSO INSIDE
fit into high school a lucrative,
06 Editorial Insights
academics an opportunity relationship-
08 ICYMI Online
26 THE MARSHALL PLAN to learn and earn. building niche
10 Inbox
Pathway to Knowledge and main
12 Pressing Issues
Marshall channel of
30 Let’s Talk About It
Atkinson growth for Stoked On
51 Distributor/Dealer
Follow Printing in Las Vegas.
Directory
industry 52 Classifieds
leaders 36 The Cure 53 Ad Index
on social Mark Vasilantone
media, join An overview and cost
industry associations, evaluation of the four
and take online courses types of equipment ONLINE COMMUNITIES
to better educate yourself options for direct-to-film
and your team. printing.

4 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023

>>
>>
editorial insights

MANAGING screenprintingmag.com

STRESS IN
EDITORIAL
Adrienne Palmer

BUSINESS
Editor-in-Chief
adrienne.palmer@smartworkmedia.com
Matt Danford
Managing Editor
matt.danford@smartworkmedia.com
Danielle Sy
Art Director
Anton Lin
Designer
Chase Martin
Intern
Marshall Atkinson, Andy MacDougall,
Nicole Pape
Columnists
Marshall Atkinson, Ron Augelli, Ali
Banholzer, Edward Cook, Mark Coudray,
Adam Calvary, Steven Farag, Richard
Greaves, Tracey Johnston-Aldworth,
Marcus Kon, Andy MacDougall, Kevin
Oakley, Jeremy Picker, Tiffany Rader
Spitzer, Gavin StGeorges, Jodi Taylor,
Jessica Tillery, Deonjala Williams
Editorial Advisory Board

SALES
Lou Arneberg
Sales Executive
East and Midwest US, Eastern Canada
lou.arneberg@smartworkmedia.com
(800) 654-5169
Vernita Johnson
Directory and Classified/Account Executive
vernita.johnson@smartworkmedia.com
(513) 263-9313
Kathryn Arneberg
Sales Assistant
kathryn.arneberg@smartworkmedia.com
(847) 412-8904

Has anxiety affected your Matthijs Braakman

ability to do your job? CEO, Group Publisher

Murray Kasmenn
Group Brand Director
David Squires
Group Editorial Director
Ralf Kircher
VP, Events + Awards
Fred Mouawad
Chairman
Dan Kisch
Executive Director
ADRIENNE PALMER
Editor-in-Chief Christine Baloga
VP Marketing Operations and
@Adrienne_Screen
Customer Acquisition
Subscription Services
(847) 504-8166, SP@omeda.com
screenprintingmag.com/subscribe
screenprintingmag.com/renew
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S C RE E N P R I N T I N G O NLINE

SCREENPRINTINGMAG.COM
ICYMI: Top articles
on our expansive
website. @ScreenPrintMag

Blank Apparel Maker Touts Supply

Chain Transparency
A tour of Bella+Canvas’s L.A. headquar-
ters illuminates how meeting social
responsibilities depends on controlling
onshore and nearshore operations.
Miller Imprints Closing
After 40 Years in
Business
Longtime owners sell their
property for $325,000.

Industry Reacts to Apparel

Company Allegedly Linked to
Forced Labor
The Brain Squad responds to a claim that
a wholesale distributor uses cotton linked
to slave labor.

GRIMCO AND FIND YOUR FAVORITE

EXPERTS ONLINE
ROQ.US STRIKE
NATIONAL DEAL SOCIAL MEDIA AND MARKETING
CHESSIE ROSIER-PARKER
Companies say their distribution agreement will “expand screenprintingmag.com/chessie
and strengthen” the industry.

inbox
Which of your past roles
contributed most to making you
the screen printer you are today?
I worked at a large com-
mercial offset printing com-
pany that ran three shifts and
employed over 100 people.
As the production manager,
scheduler, and customer
service supervisor, I saw a
lot and it helped me with my
own business. Jim Heiser,
Bullseye Activewear
Graphic artist. When I
started printing by hand, it
was all of my own poster
designs and illustrations.
Learning to screen print from
the artist’s perspective was
invaluable. Kyle Baker,
Baker Prints
Small business owner. This
role provided me with the
perspective to see all of the
angles in most situations.
10 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY+JUNE 2023
This is especially helpful
when it comes to screen
printing when there about
4000 variables that go into
the process that could cause
problems. Joe Ortinau,
Ortinau Art
Facilitator. I have not
pulled a squeegee for 30
years, yet my shop produces
A+ quality printing. I oversee
all aspects of the opera-
Share your thoughts with Screen Printing. Email us at
editor@screenprintingmag.com or join our Brain Squad
at screenprintingmag.com/brainsquad.
tion, not just the print room.
I do all of the accounting,
so I know where I stand at
all times. It helps me know
when to raise my price list
and by how much. John Wil-
helmsen, Distinct Impression
I spent my 20s in the
music business. If you can
make a living there, well… I
learned to sell, I learned to
balance a budget, I learned
the value of a business r
elationship, and I learned
why consistency matters. I
also learned I love a good
printed T-shirt. Matthew
Pierrot, Get BOLD - T-shirt
Printing and Embroidery
Owner of the company.
How can someone believe in
my product if I don’t believe
in it myself? Being the owner
means my name is attached
to everything that goes out
the door. Sam Lapcevic,
Branded Threads
Production manager. Being
there when everything
happens has helped me
notice the issues we face
daily in our production. It has
helped me see the issue and
devise a plan to fix it while
also implementing it myself.
Dario Vera, INKspired
Promotions
Lead printer at an all
manual, water-based shop/
press in Pittsburgh called
Artist Image Resource.
Maxwell Beehner, Family
Industries
Student. I’m always a stu-
dent to this industry,
constantly learning,
networking, and reaching
out to vendors for support.
You can never learn enough
in this industry. Ron Augelli,
Talk Shirty to Me
Just about every stage was
important. Every step in the
process is critical to a quality
job. I personally always loved
hand cutting Rubylith and
mixing custom colors by eye.
Robert Francis,
ScreenPrintPlus
pressing issues

VERMONT MUSIC
LOVERS REJOICE
New book features more than 350 silkscreen concert posters.
BY CHASE MARTIN

CONCERT POSTERS encap-

sulate the raw emotions,
ringing notes, and fleeting
memories of your favorite
concerts. Serving as echoes
for these short-lived
experiences, these artifacts
are usually lost in the past.
At Higher Ground, a music
venue in Vermont, the stage
has seen enough musicians
to break the shelf of any
record collector. To keep
its past in the present, the
venue has released a curated
collection of more than 350
concert posters titled Echo:
A Survey at 25 Years Of
Sound, Art, and Ink On
Paper. The new book is
part of a celebration of the
25-year creative partner-
ship between Higher Ground The coffee table book showcases 367
and design firm Solidarity of screen printed concert posters.

12 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023

Unbridled Labour (formerly
JDK Design). All proceeds
support Iskra Print Collective,
a nonprofit community space
in Burlington, Vermont, dedi-
cated to furthering creative
work in the community.
Appealing to music
lovers and screen printers of
all ages, the book highlights
acts ranging from Phish, Bob
Dylan, and Wu Tang Clan
to Maggie Rogers, Ander-
son, Paak, and Wilco. Other
highlights include fold-out
interviews, anecdotes on
select posters and shows, The posters were printed via an American Tempo 2230 screen printing press
with water-based inks.
and a moving introduction
by Grammy Award-winning
Wilco front man and solo each other … Concert post- of the individual work.” and Gary Blodgett of Color
artist Jeff Tweedy. He writes: ers are as close as one can Produced as a coffee Shack printed 367 posters
“What coheres in these get to the solid evidence table book, the final product using fine-mesh screens,
images is the work of the that we all crave – proof that is designed to resemble a 10- water-based inks, and an
music and art communities what happens when we x 10-inch stack of silkscreen American Tempo 2230
intertwined and invested in create is beyond the scope posters. Iskra Print Collective screen printing press.

WHAT FACET OF YOUR

BUSINESS ARE YOU
MOST DETERMINED TO
IMPROVE/GROW?

42% Sales

10% Design
T RUE TALES

YOU DON’T SAY 29% Production

A CUSTOMER TOLD ME he was used to paying

less than $5 per shirt, all inclusive. I explained 0% Shipping
to him that our pricing is based on the time it
takes, cost of materials, fixed cost, etc., and that I
couldn’t do that small of a run for that price. I was 19% Others
nice about it, but said, “Why don’t you go back
to the other screen printer you used to use.” He 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
said, “They are out of business.” I immediately
said, “That’s not a surprise, and it explains their
pricing.” He paused for a moment, smiled, and OTH E R :
said, “Okay I’ll go with your company.”
e Order taking. Julia Cadotte-Capps, J’s Silkscreens
Jim Heiser, Bullseye Activewear e SOPs for everything. Mark Coudray, Coudray Growth Tech
e Live printing. Maxwell Beehner, Family Industries

MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREEN PRINTING 13

WHERE
THE MAGIC
HAPPENS
Contest invites kids to design their
own T-shirt prints.
BY CHASE MARTIN
OURTOWNAMERICA is the
longest-running festival for
small-town Coral Springs,
Florida. Among car shows,
vendors, and typical festi-
val amusements is a booth
that would make any screen
printer proud.
For the past decade,
Meryl Katlin of MakeATee-
Online has hosted a competi-
tion that gives young artists
an exclusive chance to set
foot in the printing world.
The Student T-Shirt Design
Contest invites children of all
grade levels to submit their
art for a chance to be printed
This year’s T-shirt design
theme was magic.
14 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023
on T-shirts and entered into
a competition for prizes and
festival passes.
“Eleven years ago, we
were asked to have a booth
at our local carnival,” Meryl
says. “We wanted to do
something a little differ-
ent than handing out flyers
about our company. [That’s
when] we came up with a
T-shirt design contest for the
kids.”
Children submit artwork
based on a theme that
changes every year (for
2023, the theme was magic). Meryl Katlin recognizes the winners of the 2023 Student
Kaitlin and her team group Magical T-Shirt Design Contest.
the entries by age and judge
them in the weeks leading
up to the festival. “It has be-
come a really special event
for the kids, where the par-
ents are calling me like crazy,
asking if their child has made
the finals,” Meryl says.
The chosen finalists have
their designs printed on
T-shirts for display online
and at the festival grounds
for a three-day public voting
period. The top three
candidates receive their

A custom backpack, a medallion, and an
all-day ride pass were just some of the
prizes awarded.
printed T-shirt as well as
other prizes, such as a
custom backpack filled with
“goodies,” a 2023 Student
Magical T-Shirt Design Con-
test medallion, and a free all-
day ride pass. The winning
designs also are shared on
the festival’s website along
with products like stickers,
facemasks, and bags.
The 2023 event attracted
170 entries; 75 finalists were
selected. Local artists Kelly
Merkur and Omari WIlliams-
Reid selected their favorite
designs and gave out original
pieces of artwork for the
awards’ 10-year anniversary.
In the weeks following the
event, the final designs were
displayed at MakeATee-
Online’s showroom and
facility open house, where
winners could see where the
T-shirt printing magic hap-
pens.
For more information, visit
ourtown.makeateeonline.
com.
customers be able to
look, feel, and make
decisions. Ali Banhol-
zer, Wear Your Spirit
Warehouse
e A showroom
surrounding our meet-
ing areas makes it easy
to grab samples
mid-meeting. Ryan
Toney, P&M Apparel
DO YO U O R DO N ’ T YO U ?
DO YOU HAVE A NO 42%
SHOWROOM? e We closed it to the
public in 2020. It was
a blessing in disguise.
YES 58% e We have a little With the elimination
showroom at the front of consistent interrup-
e We have one but of our studio. It’s acting tions, our productivity
rarely use it. It’s by as backup storage for increased. We have
appointment only. We when we aren’t exhibit- since opened it to visits.
find that most uninvited ing at an event, but it However, they are by
show room visits are also helps demonstrate appointment only.
by tire kickers, or “time the range of garments Scott Garnett, King
burglars” as we call and techniques we Screen
them. We will can produce. Chessie
pre-qualify a customer Rosier-Parker, Squee- e We don’t take walk-
and set an appointment gee & Ink ins. We have samples,
time for the showroom. but not an entire room/
Matthew Pierrot, Get- e We have a great space dedicated to
BOLD - T-shirt Print- showroom. We use it a it. Sam Lapcevic,
ing and Embroidery great deal to help our Branded Threads
WOULDA COULDA
Uh, Thanks?
… WE RECENTLY HAD
someone email us who
was absolutely livid about
their order. The art had been
printed sideways; completely wrong in
every way! Unfortunately for them, we
didn’t print the order. After clarifying,
we received a poorly put-together
apology from them. How strange.
MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREEN PRINTING 15
new products

STICKERS
INTERNATIONAL
NEON STICKERS
Stickers International’s Fluorescent Stickers
are digitally printable, waterproof, tear resis-
tant, and UV resistant. Offered in neon yellow,
orange, pink, and green, the stickers are sup-
plied in sheets with sizes ranging from .5 x .5
in. to 8.81 x 8.64 in. A strong adhesive provides
outdoor durability of 24 months for yellow and
18 months for orange, pink, and green on flat
and slightly curved surfaces.

stickersinternational.usscrew

MIMAKI DIRECT-TO-FILM
INKJET PRESS
mimakiusa.com

Mimaki has revealed the 31.5-in. TxF150-

75, the company’s first DTF inkjet printer
for the textile and apparel printing market.
The press features a built-in ink circula-
tion system and degassed ink pack design
with aluminum packs engineered to prevent
common DTF issues such as poor ink ejec-
tion and white ink clogging. TxF150-75 offers
additional features, including a nozzle check
unit, nozzle recovery system, RasterLink7
RIP software, and new PHT50 Oeko-Tex Eco
Passport-certified, water-based heat transfer
pigment inks in CMYK + white. The TxF150-75
is designed for full-color printing on a range
of light or dark fabrics. Applications include
custom merchandise, sportswear, and apparel
decoration.
16 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023

INKCUPS HELIX Inkcups’ Helix 2.0 line of
2.0 CYLINDRICAL redesigned cylindrical inkjet
PRINTERS printers includes the upgraded
inkcups.com Helix 2.0 and Double Helix presses,
plus a new Helix+ machine.
Each printer offers a redesigned
appearance with wider frame and
illuminated interior. Other standard
available features include
automated cylinder height
adjust, automatic intelligent
diameter measurement, and
Helix software package.
The Helix 2.0 printer still
offers full-color (CMYKWW +
varnish) printing on straight-
walled and tapered cylinders.
The press also leverages
new features, including the
proprietary ColorBoost system
with two channels per head
for higher quality images
at faster speeds; increased
in-line pretreatment options
for adding corona, plasma, or
jettable primer; optional light
curtain for operator safety;
and the option to perform
curing at the back of the
machine.
The new Helix+ is designed
as a stepping stone between
the single-print-fixture Helix
2.0 and the twin-print-fixture
Double Helix. The Helix+ is a
single-tunnel machine that
can be upgraded to a double-
tunnel design for added
flexibility.

STAHLS’ CHROMA-TWILL
HEAT TRANSFER
stahls.com

Stahls’ CAD-cut Chroma-Twill heat

transfer vinyl is designed to combine
the look and texture of traditional twill
with a glossy, iridescent shimmering
effect that color-shifts. The transfer
applies with a heat press, can layer on top
of itself, and is compatible with cotton or
polyester fabrics. Available in 12- and 20-in.
rolls in colors including white, arctic green,
jade, lime green, nugget gold, pink, poppy
red, silver, sky blue, and yellow.

MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREEN PRINTING 17

 LAWSON DTF POWDER
lawsonsp.com

Lawson Screen and Digital Products has

announced its line of direct-to-film powder
is now Oeko-Tex Eco-Passport certified
and compliant with Reach and ZDHC
guidelines. According to the company,
these designations provide third-party
verification that each compound is suitable
for sustainable, environmentally friendly
textile production. Lawson offers standard
ground and fine ground DTF powder, both
designed to work with a variety of light
and dark garments.

INDEPENDENT TRADING
YOUTH PULLOVER
independenttradingco.com

Independent Trading has added a youth

size to its PRM1500TD Midweight Tie Dye
Hooded Pullover, constructed with 9-oz,
80% ringspun cotton/20% poly blend
fleece and 100% cotton 30-singles face
yarn for a stable printing surface. Features
include sewn eyelets, 1 x 1 ribbing at the
cuffs and waistband, split-stitch double-
needle-sewn seams, twill-taped neck, and
jersey-lined hood. The standard-fit hooded
pullover is available in youth sizes XS-XL
and six tie-dyed colors: black, navy, aqua
blue, pink, sunset swirl, and cotton candy.

18 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023

Embellished

LEARN FROM
THE BEST
HOW SIX LESSONS FROM SOUTHWEST AIRLINES’
REBRAND CAN APPLY TO YOUR BUSINESS.
BY NICOLE PAPE

G
AINING INSIGHT from others can be a talent.
Even if you know who to listen to, asking the right
questions, knowing when to listen, and finding
the hidden gems of value for your own company
takes some effort on your part. Nonetheless, cultivating this
talent can contribute to a well-rounded competitive edge by
helping you and your business continually evolve and grow.
Here are six tips for absorbing more knowledge, gaining new
perspectives, and challenging what “learning from the best”
really means.

20 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023

1.
for you. Rather than apply-
ing another’s strategy exactly,
focus on the broad patterns.
Determine what is applicable,
where you should be willing
LOOK BEYOND to adapt, and what might not
OUR INDUSTRY necessarily be for you.

There are plenty of consultants with a fleet freshly painted in

and experts in this space, but I
admire many forward thinkers
who have nothing to do with
screen printing. Sometimes,
identifying the best means
focusing on adapting ideas,
concepts, and processes from
other industries.
One of my favorite books of
all time is Blue Ocean Strategy
by Renée Mauborgne and W.
Chan Kim. The book does a
deep dive on a few top compa-
nies, one of which is Southwest
Airlines. Southwest became
a juggernaut in the airline
industry in part by studying the
automotive industry. The com-
pany’s analysis concluded that
blue, gold, and red, Southwest
leaned in on a new motto of
“connecting people to what’s
important in their lives through
friendly, reliable, and low-cost
air travel,” and boom! People
were booking short-haul flights
left and right, thrusting South-
west to the top of the airline
industry (at the time). The
company created a “blue ocean
market” by looking outward at
the automotive industry, then
turning their gaze inward to
the airline industry with the
realization that no one else was
providing the low-cost services
that people obviously wanted.

the accessibility of economical
cars was deterring people from
purchasing relatively expensive
tickets for domestic flights. So
in 2014, the company got rid of
(what were then) the standard
frills of air travel, expanded
from a regional to a nationwide
network, and reduced ticket
costs to push easy access to
wherever customers needed
to be whenever they needed
to be there.
Marketing this rebrand
2.
DON’T EXPECT
ONE-SIZE-
FITS-ALL
New airlines were born in the
wake of Southwest’s success-
ful expansion into more rural
areas. Spirit, Mesa, Frontier,
SunCountry, and others vied
for space in a market South-
west essentially created. How-
ever, applying a new strategy
doesn’t automatically translate
to success (Frontier, *cough
cough*).
In short, you will have to
be flexible. Be open to trying
new things for a period of time
to prove the concept is right
3.
NETWORK
Southwest focused on domi-
nating the direct, non-stop
flight territory by strategically
networking larger airports with
smaller, regional hubs offering
relatively fewer flights. Your
network can make or break
you as well. Industry events,
tradeshows, conferences, and
seminars provide access to
experts, entrepreneurs, and
other leaders who inspire you
(or perhaps even perplex you).
Keep connecting, keep talk-
ing, and keep learning from
their experiences, both good
and bad.

MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREEN PRINTING 21

 Continuous improvement is the cornerstone
of a thriving business, but it doesn’t happen
in a vacuum.”

4.
LEARN
FROM YOUR
CUSTOMERS,
TOO
Southwest used market analy-
sis and customer feedback to
improve visibility and claim a
stake in the commercial airline
industry. The company realized
its original colors, gold and
red, alienated travelers from
other regions who considered
the airline to be solely for the
southwest based on the name
and color choices. Updating
the logo and colors (along with
expanding domestic routes
east) shifted this perspective.
Continuous improvement
is the cornerstone of a thriv-
ing business, but it doesn’t
happen in a vacuum. What
does customer feedback re-
veal about how your business
can improve? What can you
implement that keeps the dial
moving closer to companies,
leaders, and entrepreneurs you
admire and respect?
5.
TAKE RISKS
Taking calculated risks is an
essential part of success in
business. Southwest under-
stood that offering “budget”
flights would require creating
shorter commuter routes to
increase the availability of air
travel in rural areas that need-
ed alternative transportation.
Other major airlines scoffed at
the idea of spreading the fleet
out in areas that weren’t as
heavily populated, but today
we can see how Southwest
played a key role in expanding
the industry’s horizons.

22 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023

 6.
STAY FOCUSED
The most successful compa-
nies and leaders are diligent in
focus. They will take an idea
from A to Z by setting specific
goals and staying committed.
Southwest’s mission was to
bring affordable, direct flights
to areas across the country respect, admire, and want to
that did not have the same echo, I am sure anyone you
transportation infrastructure want to emulate has experi-
as major hubs around the US. enced failure, taken risks, and
If it had allowed itself to be found ways around disaster
distracted from this mission by to be successful. Mimic their
setbacks and challenges, an- drive, focus, and determination
other airline likely would have as well as their strategies. Stay
dominated the same space. committed to your vision and
When you look at those you remain persistent, and maybe
you will become the inspira-
tion for others to “learn from
the best.”

NICOLE PAPE, owner of Embellishr, has built her

reputation with 17 years of experience in helping
others achieve their business needs in the indus-
try. From print experience in her former shops
to helping others choose the right equipment
to purchase for their businesses, she has am-
ple knowledge and prowess to go around.
Her company, Embellishr, is your auto-
mated equipment expert, providing new au-
tomatic screen printing equipment with a
large focus on your pre-owned equipment
needs. She loves a bitter IPA, a good color
pallet, a hot press, and long walks in print shops.

MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREEN PRINTING 23

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the marshall plan
PATHWAY TO
KNOWLEDGE
FOLLOW THESE SEVEN
TIPS TO BETTER
EDUCATE YOURSELF
AND YOUR TEAM.
By Marshall Atkinson
TO O O F T E N , I l e a r n a b o u t
people in the industry who seem
confused or frustrated. They bump
along like they’re stumbling down
a dark alley trying to find the
correct door when there are so
many amazing people who are
all too happy to share and help
illuminate the path ahead toward
greater success. Here are some
ideas for you to learn and grow
from the best minds in the industry:
SET GOALS
Everything starts and ends with
a happy customer. Do they want
something you don’t offer (yet)?
Rather than simply saying no all
the time, what if you solved that
26 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023
challenge? Make a list of what
you need. Then, identify the key
players with the knowledge, skill,
creativity, and background to
provide that product or service.
Who is doing it right? Then, jot
down some strategies you can
use to learn from them. What is
the best way for you to take in the
necessary information?
TAKE ACTION
Watching a video, having a
conversation, or reading a book
about something is one thing.
If you want to learn, you must
start trying things out for yourself.
It’s ok to do something wrong
or make a mistake. By the way,
FAIL is an acronym for “First
Attempt In Learning.” Also, keep
pushing. Growth happens when you
apply what you have learned and
try again.
ATTEND INDUSTRY
EVENTS
How many tradeshows do you
attend a year? For most small
business owners, the answer is
zero, or maybe one or two. When
I ask why they don’t go to more,
the most common answer I hear
is, “The stuff they show doesn’t
change much. Why go every year?”
The reason is that you must
be present to win. A tradeshow
can be the tip of the spear for
finding answers, especially if it’s
your customer’s event. What
problems need solving? Who
has the answers? Are there tools,
techniques, or processes that can
be deployed? Shows usually offer
classes taught by experts, work-
shops with demonstrations, and
booths you can stop by for info.
Conferences and tradeshows
are also excellent places for
networking. This can happen at or-
ganized social events or completely
random by striking up a conversa-
tion in line for coffee. I often rely
on tried and true conversation
starters, such as:
G What is your biggest challenge?
G Which product or service do
you feel is best (or worst)?
G What’s one thing that could
make the biggest difference to
your business right now?
WORKING TOGETHER
EFFECTIVELY REQUIRES
OPENNESS AND HONESTY.
top folks in the industry aren’t
G Who is doing cool things? Who experts at everything. Often, they
should I be paying attention to? will enjoy other forms of content
and repost or like those pieces. To
really dig into things, pay atten-
FOLLOW INDUSTRY tion to whom they are following.
LEADERS ON SOCIAL Take note of what they share and
MEDIA the comments they leave on other
accounts. This is how you get
If you want to keep up insight and knowl-
with industry leaders, edge regarding new
look no further than their trends, ideas, and
social media accounts. important discoveries.
They share a constant Engagement is
stream of videos, articles, Follow a l s o e n co u ra g e d .
books, resources, and @screenprintmag Did someone write or
on Instagram. Every
other content material week a new screen create an interesting
about what they feel is printing shop shares piece that impacted
important. Many also a behind the scenes your business? Let
look into their
have newsletters, blogs, production process. them know! Like or
or podcasts. #SPTakeoverTuesday share the piece, add
Keep in mind, the a comment, or shoot
them a DM. This is
how relationships begin.
JOIN INDUSTRY
ASSOCIATIONS,
COMMUNITIES, AND
MASTERMINDS
You may think you’re unique, but
your journey is probably similar
to a lot of other people in the
industry. Look to associations,
organizations, communities,
or mastermind groups to find
common ground and solutions to
common challenges.
These organizations can be
local, regional, national, or even
international in scope. More than
anything, you want to find one
that feels at home to you. Align-
ment and fit matter. Regardless,
paying our dues or membership
fees won’t inject the knowledge
MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREEN PRINTING 27
you need most. There is often a
direct correlation between what EXTRA!
Want more from The Marshall Plan? Read all of Marshall Atkinson’s
columns at screenprintingmag.com/themarshallplan.
you get out of the membership and
what you pay into it. Attend the
workshops, seminars, and digital
campfires these groups provide.

TAKE ONLINE
COURSES OR
WORKSHOPS
Have you ever thought you were
too busy to take a class and learn
how to do something correctly?
Rather than gaining the knowl-
edge, you tried to DIY the solution,
taking twice the time and triple the
cost, all because of one thought:
“How hard could it be?”
Instead, why not find someone
who has been down that road
before who can show you the
ropes? Many industry thought
leaders have developed classes,
workshops, webinars, and presen-
tations that can give you the best
practices for practically any situa-
tion. These can be a huge benefit
even if you “already know how to grow alongside you and share the Working together effectively
do it.” The instructor can often journey with you? This happens requires openness and honesty.
show you a different method or with collaboration. Are you brave enough to admit
technique you haven’t considered. Whatever you’re interested in that you don’t know something?
learning right now – direct-to- That there’s a struggle? Open-
film transfers, high-density screen ing up can be difficult. However,
COLLABORATE printing, incorporating Midjourney on that journey, you’ll find you
art into sales – there are people can grow together faster and
Do you often feel like you’re in just like you who are at the same probably have fewer dead ends
the industry alone? What if I told spot in their learning process. than if you did it alone. Just
you that others would love to Your job is to meet them. Have raise your hand and find your
some fun and share the load by future knowledge wanderers. Are
collaborating with one or more of you ready?
these shops.

MARSHALL ATKINSON is the owner of Atkinson Consulting,

based in Mesa, Arizona. He coaches apparel decoration com-
panies on operational efficiency, continuous improvement,
workflow strategy, business planning, employee motivation,
management, and sustainability. He is a frequent tradeshow
speaker, author, and host of two podcasts, as well as co-
founder of the Shirt Lab educational company. He can be
reached at marshall@marshallatkinson.com.

28 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023

Simple Shop Management Software

Keep track of jobs

Improve shop communication
Automate customer approvals
Reduce costly mistakes
Grow your shop

Try it Free
 seat at the table

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT

CREATING A PATH TOWARD A MORE DIVERSE
AND INCLUSIVE PRINTING INDUSTRY.
PART 4: WOMEN IN PRINT

What can female leaders in
the print space do to help
diversify the industry? What
industry-wide steps can we
take toward leveling the
playing field? How does spe-
cial recognition as a female
leader affect a business?
We p u t a l l t h e s e
questions and more to four
female leaders of printing
businesses during the most
recent edition of “Let’s Talk
About It,” a webinar se-
ries covering diversity in
the print space. Hosted
April 25 and moderated by
Adrienne Palmer, Part 4
of the live webinar series
featured panelists Barbara
Chandler Allen, Carmen Rad,
Brandi Schieber, and Jessica
Tillery. All four panelists are
previous Women in Screen
Printing and Women in Wide
Format Award winners.
The multi-part diver-
sity and inclusion series
is sponsored by Screen
Printing magazine and
hosted exclusively by ROQ.
US and U.N.I.T.E Together.
Let’s Talk About It: Part 1
focused on Black, female
screen printers; Part 2 fo-
cu s e d on th e LG BTQ +
community; and Part 3
focused on hiring people
with disabilities.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This topic isn’t
political. It’s not meant to divide
our industry, our country, or our
world. This is about human
rights. This is about welcoming
all people into our industry with
open arms and giving everyone
a seat at the table. I hope we all
learn something and find ways
to grow together.

SPONSORED EXCLUSIVELY BY

Barbara Carmen Rad Brandi Schieber Jessica Tillery

Chandler Allen Founder/President, Founder, Downtown Owner, All
Founder/President, CR&A Custom, Los Threads, Enid, Quality Graphics,
Fresh Artists, Angeles Oklahoma Sacramento,
Philadelphia California

30 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023

Nominations are open
for the 2023 Women in
Screen Printing Awards.
Nominate a deserving
Candidate by June 30!
screenprintingmag.com/womenprint

SPONSORED BY
 STOKED ON
PRINTING CEMENTS
LONG-TERM CLIENT
RELATIONSHIPS
THROUGH ONLINE
MERCH STORE
CREATION AND
MANAGEMENT.
BY KELSEY JOHNSON

a market saturated by local and
online competitors, finding your
niche is one of the best ways to
stand out and grow your busi-
ness. Some shops find success narrowing in on
specific clients – printing merch for bands or
sports gear for school districts, for instance
– while others boost revenue by specializing
their offerings. (Did you check out last issue’s
articles on Barrel Maker’s live screen printing
events or Reach Clothing’s print a shirt,
donate a shirt business model?)
EXPAND WITH
ON DEMAND
For Las Vegas-based
Stoked On Printing, building
online merchandise stores
for clients has turned into a
lucrative, relationship-building
niche and main channel of
growth. Founded in 2010, the
full-service merch company
specializes in custom T-shirts,
screen printing, embroidery,
promotional goods, and
company swag, with large bulk
orders making up most of the
shop’s orders. After supply-
ing hundreds of merch shops
managed by clients for years,
Stoked On Printing has recently
expanded its capabilities to
build and manage online shops
for clients.
The Demand for
Print On Demand
Print on demand is a growing
market fueled by internet- and
smartphone-savvy buyers, the
popularity of fashion apparel
and unique merchandise, and
ever-expanding ecommerce. In
fact, print on demand is one of
the markets that had a positive
impact from the COVID-19
pandemic, with consumers
shifting to online shopping
during lockdown and continu-
ing those shopping habits as
restrictions eased.
n A Grand View Research
report predicts the service
Stoked On Printing
recently launched the segment of the global print-
official merch stores
on-demand market to surge
for Tao Group
Hospitality. at a compound annual growth
rate of 28.4 percent from 2022
KEVIN OAKLEY
MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREENPRINTING 33
 EXPAND WITH
ON DEMAND

to 2030, representing a big

opportunity for print service
providers expanding into end-
to-end fulfillment through on-
line merch store management.
The report found the biggest
setback for the market is lack
of transparency and control
for creators or brands; major
online sellers are known to have
quality control issues and may
also deny access to client lists,
leaving brands in the dark as
to who’s buying their merch.
The upside for screen print-
ers? Those spurned by national
online retail companies may
be looking for exactly what
screen-printing operations have
to offer.
PSPs that build and manage
online shops can offer their
clients higher quality prod-
ucts, apparel and promotional
product decoration expertise,
transparency around orders,
and, perhaps most impor- n stores that are managed by our isn’t merch or ecommerce but
tantly, better customer service Online merch stores customers for about four years that do have (or desire!) brand
and stronger client relation- should have 10 to 15 now, which has worked really recognition. After really start-
items, including shirts,
ships than online competitors. hats, and mugs. well,” Kevin says. “However, we ing to pursue these clients in
Providing online store building are starting to find even better early 2023, the shop has built
and management services has success when we can build the and is currently running about
led to stronger, sustained client store for the customer.” 10 online merch stores, not to
relationships for Stoked On Stoked On Printing started mention the hundreds of stores
Printing. “Online stores have out integrating their services Stoked On Printing works
really benefited us in cementing into existing stores and print within the background.
longer term relationships with aggregators to fulfill orders.
our customers,” Kevin Oakley, “But it became really commod- Getting Up and
CRO, Stoked On Printing, says. itized a lot faster than we
Running
“Instead of transactional orders initially anticipated, which led
where they simply need some- to us reducing a lot of the Kevin says the process from
thing printed, we are building volume from those parties,” client interest to store launch
them a solution where we Kevin explains. The shop took doesn’t take much time. “It’s
actually have a one- or two- a step back and surveyed the actually very simple for our
year contract to fulfill their market to see where their customers – all we need from
merch online.” Merchloop technology could be them is their high-resolution
a good fit – “And we landed on logo,” he explains. “From there,
Taking the Reins company stores!” he says. we can build the store and start
Stoked On Printing has making products and samples.”
Stoked On Printing isn’t new found that building and It depends on the brand, but
to online store management. managing online merch stores he recommends stores have
“We have been essentially can be an attractive offering around 10 to 15 core items like
running in the background of to clients whose main business shirts, hats, mugs, and tumblers

34 SCREENPRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023


Online stores are a great in for
printers looking to get more
business and lock in customers.”
available on their site – “T-shirts
are still the number-one seller,”
he says. Kevin also suggests
refreshing offerings monthly by
adding one to three new items
and taking a few others down;
embroidered polos, hats, and
bags/backpacks have been a
hit for the shop lately. “Because
we use our own Merchloop
print-on-demand software, we
are able to get stores up and
running within days,” he says.
“From there, the customer can
give us feedback and usually be
live within a couple weeks.”
For those just getting started
Kevin says, “I would recom-
mend looking into Inksoft
stores as, from my experience,
they are easy to set up and
manage.” Stoked On Printing
also offers its Merchloop soft-
ware and free store builder to
other screen-printing shops.
Once the online shop is up
and running, Stoked uses its
Merchloop software for order
fulfillment. The print shop out-
puts on-demand orders using
Brother GTX Pro Bulk direct-
to-garment printers and Tajima
embroidery machines, shipping
orders within three business
days of receiving them.
Endless
Possibilities
Potential online merch store
customers are virtually
boundless. Stoked has worked
with fundraising stores, com-
pany stores for employees, and
brand stores with ecommerce
fulfillment for a client’s custom-
ers, to name a few.
Have a nonprofit client
getting ready for their annual
fundraiser? A made-to-order
store could help them hit their
fundraising goals without get-
ting stuck with unsold merch.
Is your booster club or athletic
department client frequently
placing small orders? An online
merch store could offer classic
EXPAND WITH
ON DEMAND
and limited-edition designs on
not only T-shirts, but a wide
range of garments or swag.
Online shops can open the
door to more out-of-the-box
clients, too. As content creators
and influencers gain large fol-
lowings, they often launch their
own lines of merch. This grow-
ing market could be a great
match for social media-savvy
print shops expanding their
on-demand services. Or maybe
your shop’s location lends itself
to hyperlocal potential cus-
tomers, like the soft-serve ice
cream shack with a cult follow-
ing or independent artists who
frequent local craft marts.
From small businesses to
large corporations, all kinds
of clients could benefit from
having an online merch store
for staff or their own custom-
ers, fans, or supporters. While
Brother GTX Pro Bulk the possibilities are wide and
DTG printers and vast for clients, the same goes
Tajima embroidery
for printers. “Online stores are a
machines are used
to print customers’ great in for printers looking to
products. get more business and lock in
Q customers,” Kevin says.
One of Stoked On Print-
ing’s newly launched official
merch stores is for Tao Group
Hospitality, an entertainment
company with more than 70
branded locations ranging from
Michelin-starred restaurants to
nightclubs. Stoked On Printing’s
merch store features seven
branded offerings ranging from
“dad caps” to cropped tees and
hoodies for the company’s Las
Vegas-based Omnia Nightclub
inside Caesars Palace hotel and
casino. The beauty of building
a merch store for a client with
many brands nestled under its
umbrella? There’s always room
for expansion, evident by the
“coming soon” banners depict-
ing some of Tao Group’s other
brands.
MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREENPRINTING 35
 SPECIAL
F E AT U R E

EVALUATING THE while the ink is still wet, the

graphic is coated in a powdered
to take that step generally
have three other options: heat

TRUE COSTS OF adhesive, which must be heated presses, curing ovens, and

FOUR CURING
to cure. A critical step in the flash cure units. The following
DTF process is thorough and provides an overview of all four

OPTIONS FOR uniform curing of the adhesive.

A properly cured transfer has a
types of equipment:

DTF ADHESIVES. glossy, orange-peel texture.

The most efficient choice for
HEAT PRESSES
To cure the transfer on a
BY MARK VASILANTONE, PRESIDENT, curing printed transfers is an clamshell heat press, the
VASTEX INTERNATIONAL
infrared conveyor dryer. Unlike bottom platen should be
other alternatives that require heated. For presses without a
your constant attention, these bottom heating element, the
systems are largely automated. press can be closed for 30
Those who are not yet ready seconds to heat the bottom
irect to Film
(DTF) is a
decorating
technology in
which artwork
is inkjet-printed onto an
intermediate film that can be
transferred using heat onto
cotton, polyester, and other
fabrics, as well as treated
leather. Once prepared,
the transfers can be used
immediately, stored for later, or
sold as a final product.
After printing on DTF film,
Transfer printing begins with and while the ink is still
wet, the graphic is coated
the color layer, followed by the in a powdered adhesive.
white base. After printing, and

36 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023


platen. Whether on a clamshell
or swing-away press, lay the
transfer on the bottom platen
with the adhesive side up, then
hover the top platen just above
the transfer without making
contact.
Dwell time and temperature
will depend on the make of
heat press used, but estimate
between one and five minutes
per transfer at 275° to 350°F.
Most DTG and DTF shops
already own a heat press.
However, curing DTF adhesives
requires time and attention.
Occupying the heat press also
could create a production
bottleneck by preventing it
from being used for other
purposes. Most heat presses
operate on 120V and should
be operated below a separate
powered exhaust hood to
evacuate fumes. Average cost
ranges from $200 to $2000
depending on brand and
features.
CURING OVENS
Suitable for individual sheets
of DTF film as large as 18 x
24 inches, curing ovens are
single-function devices that
provide uniform heating at
temperatures ranging to 300°F.
Once the oven is heated to
the desired temperature, the
transfer sheet is inserted into
a tray that slides in and out to
retain the heat inside the body
of the device. An automatic,
timed alarm signals the
operator to remove the transfer.
A typical setting is 260°F at 120
seconds. A fume extractor or
separate powered exhaust hood
is strongly recommended.
Most operate on 120V and fit
on a tabletop or counter, freeing
up heat presses for other uses.
Average cost ranges from $200
to $1000.
S P E C I A L F E AT U R E T H E C U R E
The powdered adhesive can be cured by hovering a heat
press above the transfer film.
FLASH CURE UNITS dual rotary platens can double
With flash cure units, the productivity. Head leveling
transfer is placed on a vented helps ensure edge-to-edge
platen. The high-wattage heater consistency. For shops that also
swivels over the platen for offer manual screen printing,
uniform curing. Models with flash cure units are likely readily
available and offer relatively
hands-free results in about
a minute. Entry-level units
operate on 120V and should
be operated below a separate
powered exhaust hood to
evacuate fumes. Average cost
ranges from $150 to $1400.
CONVEYOR DRYERS
A tabletop infrared conveyor
dryer offers easy, hands-free
operation. Once placed on
the conveyor belt, a freshly
powdered transfer travels
through the heating chamber
to cure. The height-adjustable
heating element and digital
control of the temperature
and belt speed allow precision
settings for repeatable results.
The DTF transfer
is being cured in a Putting a catch bin at the end
flash cure unit.
of the conveyor can improve
productivity by enabling
MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREEN PRINTING 37
T H E C U R E S P E C I A L F E AT U R E
The finished product.
production applications, larger
conveyor dryers accommodate
multiple rows of transfers in
addition to DTG prints and
screen printed garments.
Unlike heat presses, curing
ovens, and flash cure units,
some compact conveyor dryers
are available with integral
powered exhaust to remove
fumes and moisture from the
work area, eliminating the cost
of separate exhaust hoods.
Tabletop units operate on 120V
and 240V and start around
$1600, or $2600 with powered
exhaust.
X Using a multiple transfers to move TIME COST
conveyor
dryer to
through the unit in succession OUTWEIGHS
cure the without operator oversight. EQUIPMENT COST
DTF film Infrared conveyor dryers can Because curing equipment
frees the
operator for also be used to cure pretreated tends to last many years, its
other tasks.
garments as well as DTG one-time cost is likely to be
prints. For commercial, high- insignificant compared to the
38 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023
longer-term cost of the time the
process would otherwise rob
from profit-making activities.
For this reason, conveyor dryers
are generally the most efficient
option. Heat presses, flash cure
units, and curing ovens can
burn your transfers if you forget
to remove them in time. As a
result, they require constant
attention, and they can distract
you from production, prepress,
and even sales activities that
generate income throughout
the useful life of your curing
equipment.
If you’re just starting out,
you may not need any type of
automation. However, growth
should lead you to reconsider.
Adding manual equipment
will end up costing you more
than purchasing time-saving
automated equipment in the
first place.
30
TIPS FOR
KICKING THOSE
IRRATIONAL
THOUGHTS TO
THE CURB.
STO RY BY C H R I S B U R S L E M
I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y B E N V I L L A R A N T E
ANXIETY DISORDERS ARE
the most common mental
health issues in the US.
According to data from the
National Institute of Mental
Health, they affect one in
three adults. The rates are
even higher among
business owners, with
one recent study from the
University of California, San
Francisco finding half of
surveyed entrepreneurs suf-
fered from conditions such as
anxiety and depression. The
reasons likely relate to their
wide-ranging responsibilities
and constant focus on the
40 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023
vagaries of the future.
According to Screen
Printing’s recent Brain Squad
survey, screen print pros are
no exception. When asked
how often they get severely
anxious about business-
related matters, 18 percent of
respondents said once a day,
23 percent said once a week,
and 15 percent said a couple
of times a month. That’s 56
percent of screen printers in
decision-making positions
reporting they experience
severe anxiety monthly.
Anxiety is a fact of life
for many of you. “Owning a
manufacturing business can
be super stressful,” Matthew
Pierrot of GetBold - T-shirt
Printing and Embroidery
says. “We’ve all had the job
that went wrong and then
what? I remember coming
to work one morning to see
all the sweatshirts printed
during the night shift had
sublimated terribly. These
were expensive customer-
provided and custom-sewn
sweatshirts. There were more
than 1000. They were all gar-
bage. I nearly vomited. I went
for a long walk. I told myself
that even though this is bad,
it wouldn’t sink the ship. Mis-
takes happen at every printer,
but it’s how you deal with
them that matters. Then I
gathered up my courage, and
my check book, and went
to visit my customer… And
they’re still my customer.”
Ron Augelli of WeTalk-
Shirty.com says, “Being in
business for so long I have
personal expectations. Those
expectations are then pushed
onto orders and through our
processes. Most recently we
have had a spike in produc-
tion and with this came
anxiety of how to manage

the production and expec-
tations. Thankfully I have a
great staff and we leaned on
each other to push through.
We are always about improv-
ing and educating where we
can. This is where bringing
in a consultant is valuable to
helping with the growth, the
processes, and keeping your
anxiety down. There isn’t
a written scroll of how this
industry should run; we are
all writing a part of it.”
The remaining 44 percent
surveyed aren’t totally in the
clear. Of that figure, 31 per-
cent report feeling severely
anxious a few times a year.
Dan Reeve of The E. B. Wood
Group was once “so stressed
out, it triggered a migraine,
which in turn ended up with
me going home. It didn’t
improve the stress level as I
had twice as much to deal
with when I returned the next
day.”
Only 13 percent surveyed
indicated they pretty much
never experienced work-
related severe anxiety.
“I think as an entrepre-
neur you learn to deal with it
because you still have to get
the job done,” Jeremy Picker
of Amb3r Creative says.
“The urgency of our industry
makes it tough to just ‘relax’
most of the time. Deadlines,
mishaps with the supply
chain, and staff hiccups all
make it super intense.”
From an evolutionary
perspective, anxiety is easy
to understand. An emotion-
fueled drive to know whether
danger lurks around the
bend was tremendously
advantageous for early hu-
mans. When we get anxious,
a structure in the brain called
the amygdala – the seat of
fear – releases stress hor-
mones such as adrenaline
and cortisol, as well as glu-
cose, into the bloodstream.
The heart, sweat glands, and
mental faculties all ramp up.
We’re now primed for a fight
(or flight) for survival.
However, when the trig-
gers of these changes are
more likely to be worries
about blown deadlines than
encountering predators,
anxiety can become unnec-
essarily discomforting and
exhausting. Additionally, anxi-
ety is unlike other physiologi-
cal sensations that provoke
specific responses – eating
in response to hunger, find-
ing company in response to
loneliness – in that it doesn’t
abate when you make ef-
forts to fend off the threat.
It hangs around feeding on
itself.
Even worse, it’s not even
very good at defining or
predicting danger. Studies
show when we lack definite
information, we make very
poor judgments, and we do
so in predictable ways. We’re
notoriously terrible at assess-
ing risk; we worry about all
the wrong things. We rely on
anecdotes rather than data.
We fear events that bring to
mind vivid imagery, such as
shark or terrorist attacks, but
not the far greater threats
posed by cheeseburg-
ers and road accidents. (In
studies, people are willing
to spend more on travel
insurance that would pay
out $100,000 for death by
terrorism than for insurance
that would pay the same
for death from any cause.)
Compounding the torment
is that our brains seem wired
to resist uncertainty. (Stud-
ies show most people would
rather receive a shock now
that’s twice as painful as
receiving a random shock in
the next 24 hours.)
For some people, anxi-
ety creates a debilitating
negative spiral that can take
over their lives. (If anxiety
is inhibiting your ability to
function – to work, to sleep,
and to do even simple things
like go out of the house – we
recommend you seek profes-
sional help.) However, even
for people without such dis-
orders, overthinking, ruminat-
ing, and angst can limit the
ability to enjoy life and stunt
professional growth.
The standard advice to
deal with anxiety is to live
more fully in the present –
embrace the moment! Be
here now! Bring calm to your
mind. However, anyone who
has tried even the most basic
mindfulness exercise can at-
test this is fiendishly difficult.
There’s no running from
anxiety. Suppressing it
doesn’t work; medication
only masks the problem by
providing temporary relief.
Trying to control the future
not only tempts fate, but also
MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREEN PRINTING
OV E R CO M I N G A N X I E T Y
makes anxiety worse by rein-
forcing focus on what is yet
to come. Our constant efforts
to eliminate the negative are
what cause us to feel anx-
ious, insecure, and unhappy
in the first place.
So what to do? There’s no
quick fix. It’s a fight you can’t
win. Dealing with anxiety es-
sentially involves rolling with
life’s punches and applying a
heavy dose of reframing.
First, understand a life
without challenge would be
boring. Life is full of vexing
situations. Abandon your
need to establish complete
security, and you’ll realize you
never needed it in the first
place.
Second, as the Stoics liked
to say: The obstacle is the
way. The path to growth is to
do difficult things. That ne-
cessitates engaging with and
getting used to your anxiet-
ies and fears. However, you
should not become subservi-
ent to them. Rather, consider
the writer Elizabeth Gilbert’s
approach, which essentially
involves treating anxiety like
an annoying younger sibling.
The trick isn’t to ignore fear
or worry, or to destroy it,
and definitely not to obey
it, but to make space for it.
She uses the analogy of a
road trip. “Fear always comes
along for the ride, and that’s
fine – but that doesn’t mean
you need to let it anywhere
near the steering wheel.”
In the following pages,
we suggest ways for you to
stay in control. Courtesy of
our readers, mental health
experts, and psychology writ-
ers, these tips include actions
to take when anxiety strikes,
coping strategies, and ways
to build resilience.
41
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PART ONE
EXPLORE
YOUR
ANXIETY
DIVERT YOUR
ATTENTION
A SCREAMING BABY faced
with a grownup making silly
noises will often fall silent;
it can’t focus on being
distressed and intrigued at
the same time. Adults aren’t
so different. (Ever tried play-
ing Sudoku while ranting
internally?) With our limited
attentional bandwidth, even
minor acts of distraction –
listening to music and focus-
ing intently on the words,
doing some basic math,
focusing on the needs of
others – can help silence
negative thoughts or buy
time until emotions die down.
However, distinguishing
healthy distraction from
unhealthy avoidance is
critical. Binging on Netflix for
20 hours when an issue
obviously needs to be
confronted is more like
unhealthy avoidance.
PLAY THE 5-5-5
GAME
ANOTHER WAY TO stop
ruminating about the future
and get back to the present
is to take stock of your im-
mediate physical surround-
ings. Try the 5-5-5 game:
% Look around and name five
things you can see.
% List five things you
can hear.
% Move five parts of your
42 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023
before – and survived. This
storm will also pass. “There’s
nothing I need to do.”
ASK QUESTIONS
THE UNKNOWN IS the
playground of anxiety. In
this battle with irrational
thoughts, having a battery
of questions can help you
identify the unknown that is
bedeviling you.
One of the best ques-
tions, courtesy of meditation
teacher Sylvia Boorstein, is: Is
this useful? Worrying about
say, an upcoming client
meeting can feel productive,
like you’re doing something
substantial about a potential
problem. But in truth, you’re
not. You’re likely ruminating
– stuck in a loop, having the
THE ONSET OF anxiety has been compared to a hijacking of
same thought over and over.
your amygdala, that primal part of your brain responsible for
your fight-or-flight response. The key is thus to re-engage your This is particularly the case
thinking brain, convince it you are actually safe, and talk your when it involves something
mind down from the ledge. One of the best ways to do that over which you have no con-
is with deep breathing, which raises oxygen levels and helps
expunge the carbon dioxide that builds up when you’re stressed. trol, such as the weather or
Maude Swearingen of Fully Promoted Arbutus partakes in “deep the stock market.
breathing exercises and yoga.” The 4-7-8 method (inhale for Whatever it is, come to
four seconds, hold for seven and exhale for eight) is probably
the best known strategy. Alternatives include box breathing terms with the fact it’s out
– a method used by the Navy SEALS that also involves slow, of your control. “The things
controlled breathing – and the double inhale championed by that are in your control, you
popular podcaster Dr. Andrew Huberman.
can manage just fine,” Marcel
Schwantes writes in Inc.
body you can feel (i.e., rotate into something concrete you magazine. “So, do yourself
your ankle, wiggle your ears, can address. “Just labeling it, and the people closest to
or nod your head up and just calling it out, and saying you a favor: Take it easy, do
down). it out loud … It’s the visibil- one thing at a time, and then
% Other physical inter- ity that is the kryptonite for refocus again on what’s
ventions, such as taking the ego. That seeing it really immediately in front of you.”
a cold shower or sniffing de-fangs it, which is kind of Pepper your amygdala
lavender oil, also can act as amazing. And that can with questions: “What’s the
circuit-breakers for spiraling happen in a minute,” he said threat here? What am I actu-
thoughts. on a recent podcast. ally afraid of? Have I heard
Identify your thoughts. this before?” Such questions
NAME THE TRAP Telling yourself “This is a fire off the prefrontal cortex,
ACCORDING TO DAN panic attack” (or it is which can relieve the anxiety.
Harris, the broadcast journal- catastrophizing, black-and- “I don’t have debilitating
ist and author of Ten Percent white thinking, or another anxiety, but I occasionally go
Happier, naming or labeling cognitive distortion) enables through times when I don’t
bedeviling thought patterns you to regain power by real- think I’ve prepared enough
can convert a vague threat izing you’ve encountered it or researched something

to discuss it professionally,”
Marshall Atkinson of Atkin-
son Consulting says. “Frankly,
this drives my curiosity and
pushes me to ask questions
with others in the field who
know more.”
SAY AN
AFFIRMATION
IN THE FACE of anxiety’s
assault on our equanimity,
clinging to short, somewhat
positive statements can
remind you this mental storm
is being caused by a transient
and ultimately unimportant
event. Examples include:
% “It wasn’t that bad in the
past.”
% “It won’t last forever. This
too shall pass.”
% “This is going to be a good
time… or a good story.”
TALK THE SELF-
TALK
COGNITIVE THERAPY’S main
insight – that how we think
about a situation determines
how we feel, so we can
feel better by addressing
distorted thinking – is now a
self-help mainstay. It’s hard to
appreciate how revolutionary
it was 50 years ago, when
psychotherapy was fixated
on unpacking subconscious
drives. And yet, this well-
understood message is easy
to forget it when you are in
the grip of anxiety.
“These irrational ‘auto-
matic thoughts’ that anxiety
arouses usually come in the
form of absolutistic musts,
shoulds, oughts, and other
demands, such as ‘I must do
well,’ ‘Others ought to treat
me well,’ or ‘Things need
to work out the way I want
them to,’” notes psychology
blogger Eric Barker, citing
the work of the pioneering
cognitive psychologist Albert
Ellis. This allows you to play a
game of “Find the Irrational
Belief.” When confronted
with anxious feelings,
identify examples of abso-
lutist thinking, then dispute
that thinking. Next, turning
those “musts” into realistic
preferences can dial down
the emotions. For example, “I
must do well during this pre-
sentation or my life is over,”
GENERALLY SPEAKING, ARE YOU MORE ANXIOUS NOW
THAN WHEN YOU ENTERED THE INDUSTRY?
31%
15% YES, MUCH MORE
21%
33%
0 10 20
*Responses are from a recent Screen Printing Brain Squad survey.
could become: “I’d like to do
well, but it almost certainly
won’t be that big of a deal if
I don’t.”
TRUST IN
YOURSELF
WHETHER YOU’RE dread-
ing an upcoming event or
worried about something
not going the way you want,
trust you have the physical
and psychological resources
to overcome, just as you have
so many times in the past.
Talking of his propensity to
fret about the unknown fu-
ture, the writer Oliver Burke-
man notes: “And of course
the answer in every case
– though apparently I need
to keep relearning this les-
son – is that we’ll cross that
bridge when we come to it.
OV E R CO M I N G A N X I E T Y
YES
NO, IT'S ABOUT THE SAME
NO, IT'S LESS
30 40 50 60
We’ll figure it out then, based
on what’s actually happening
then, drawing on the internal
and external resources we’ll
have access to then. After all,
when you stop to think about
it, there isn’t really much of
an alternative. When else can
you cross a bridge, except
when you come to it?”
An anonymous Brain
Squad member says: “We’ve
recently had some staffing
issues that triggered some
anxiety in the future of our
company and being able
to meet the needs of our
customers. I was able to think
it through and remember
that our management team
has done all these positions
and can do them again if
needed.”
WRITE IT DOWN
IF YOU’RE PARTICULARLY
prone to catastrophizing,
health experts say it can
help to get thoughts out
of your head and down on
paper. Dr. Martin Seligman, a
professor at the University of
Pennsylvania and author of
Tomorrowmind, recommends
MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREEN PRINTING 43
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how he used this approach to

tame fears related to a major
life decision: “A funny thing
happened: as soon as I cut
through the vague unease
and ambiguous anxiety by
defining my nightmare, the
worst-case scenario, I wasn’t
as worried about taking
the trip. Suddenly, I started
thinking of (ways) to get
back on track if all hell struck
at once. I could always take
a temporary bartending job
to pay the rent. I could sell
some furniture and cut back
on eating out. I could steal
lunch money from the
kindergarteners who passed
by my apartment every
morning. The options were
many. I realized it wouldn’t
be that hard to get back to
A LITTLE MORE than a decade ago, British musicians teamed up with sound where I was, let alone survive.
therapists to engineer a song specifically designed to calm the nervous system
by lowering heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
None of these things would
The eight-minute song, called Weightlessness, was found to reduce anxiety by up be fatal – not even close.”
to 65 percent. “The song ... contains a sustaining rhythm that starts at 60 beats
per minute and gradually slows to around 50,” Lyz Cooper, founder of the British
Academy of Sound Therapy, told Inc. Magazine. “While listening, your heart rate
POSTPONE YOUR
gradually comes to match that beat.” WORRIES
NOT PREPARED TO stare
your fears in the face? Sched-
creating an Anxiety Balance vexing you. In sum, just the its saliency. Articulate your ule a meeting with them for
Sheet to turn your mental act of unpacking your anxi- deepest fears in fine detail, later. “Try setting aside 20
state around. On a piece of ety bag and knowing what’s and you’ll likely find you can minutes every day, let’s say at
paper, spend a few minutes inside can have a profound handle whatever eventuates. 4:30 p.m., just for your wor-
filling in four columns titled: effect on reducing your fear The blogger Tim Ferriss, ries. If you are fretting at 10
“What Do I Know,” “What of the future.” who has probably done as p.m., jot down the reason and
Don’t I Know,” “What Can I much as anyone to re-popu- resolve to think it through lat-
Influence,” And “What Can’t I DWELL ON THE larize Stoic thinking, recounts er,” Dr. Robert L. Leahy, direc-
Influence.” WORST-CASE tor of the American Institute
“About 80 percent of SCENARIO for Cognitive Therapy, sug-
the people I’ve worked this “SET ASIDE A certain num- gested to Real Simple. Safe
through with are surprised ber of days, during which in the knowledge that your
they have more items listed you shall be content with concerns will be addressed,
in columns one and three the scantiest and cheapest you can get on with your life.
(the ‘good’ columns) than fare, with coarse and rough In the meantime, the issue
they do in columns two and dress, saying to yourself the vexing you might just take
four,” he told Time. “There’s while: ‘Is this the condition care of itself. Psychothera-
some liberation in just that I feared?’” The world is a pists call techniques such as
outlining what’s making you far less turbulent place than postponement “metacogni-
crazy and realizing there may when Seneca uttered that tive,” meaning they make
be many balancing positives thought 2000 years ago, but you aware of your habitual
to those issues that are his message has lost none of thought processes. As a

44 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023

 OV E R CO M I N G A N X I E T Y

result, they are effective
longer than, say, trying to
assuage a particular worry by
addressing its specific con-
tent, battling the emotions it
stirs, or even suppressing it.
TAKE ACTION …
ANY ACTION
ACTION IS THE enemy of
anxiety. Someone no less
self-assured than Jeff Bezos
has talked about how this
plays out in his business life:
“I find that as soon as I can
identify it, and make the first
phone call, or send off the
first email, it dramatically
reduces the stress I feel.”
Thus, the advice when you
feel yourself falling into ru-
mination is to do something,
anything! The problem is
anxiety also happens to be
the enemy of action. When
you’re feeling trapped by
intrusive, repetitive worry,
it’s hard to raise the energy
to do anything. The solu-
tion? Set the bar really low,
especially if your brand of
anxiety comes with the taint
of perfectionism.
“In the fast-paced world
of screen printing, when
something goes wrong, we
can often feel like everything
else follows suit,” Andrew
Monteyne of All-County
Apparel says. “Instead of
each one individually. This
way you can remain calm,
composed and in control
of whatever your business
throws at you!”
CALL A FRIEND
ONE OF THE CRUEL ironies
of anxiety is that people
often know how to respond
when a friend or colleague
is struggling, but can’t apply
the same remedies to their
own mental turmoil. This is
why health professionals
recommend trying to add
some distance to the prob-
lem, such as asking yourself
what counsel you would offer
a friend or a team member
in a similar situation, or even
talking to yourself in the third
person. That’s what tennis
great Ivan Lendl would do,
as he explained via a post
on MensTennisForum.com.
“Say you’re nervous before
a match, you admit it to
yourself. You say, ‘Shit, Ivan
is nervous today. But he’s
going to snap out of it.’ You
describe what you are feel-
ing, and then you let go of it.
And it’s over.”
“We’re constantly feel-
ing the pressure when live
activating, whether it’s a
worry over quality of our
premiums being given away
or stressing over days where
PART TWO
COPING WITH
ANXIETY
UNDERSTAND THE
TRIGGERS
ACCORDING TO SOME
mental health literature, the
80/20 approach can also be
applied to anxiety. Iden-
tify the 20 percent of issues
or people that create 80
percent of your anxiety and
seek ways to remove them
from your life. If scrolling
through social media leads
to an unhealthy fixation on
your appearance, avoid this
specific trigger, Jodie Louise
Russell, a doctoral student
who studies the philosophy
of rumination in depression
and anxiety at the University
of Edinburgh, told the New
York Times. “Pay attention
to situations that spike your
anxiety – whether that’s
HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET SEVERELY ANXIOUS
ABOUT BUSINESS-RELATED MATTERS?
18% ALMOST EVERYDAY
23%
getting feedback, writing
important emails, being put
on the spot, or starting the
day with a messy desk. Keep
a journal and look for
patterns. When you know
what makes you the most
uneasy, you can better antici-
pate challenges and create a
plan to deal with triggers.”
UNPLUG
SOCIAL MEDIA CAN serve as
a salutary distraction (funny
YouTube videos have been
shown to help people deal
with anxious thoughts). It
also can provide some valida-
tion or comfort via interac-
tion with friends. But more
often, Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram, and TikTok – all of
which are driven by algo-
MAYBE ONCE A WEEK

panicking, take a few mo- we have multiple events

ments to breathe and focus
on the root cause of the
problem. This will enable you
to analyze the issue more
objectively and work toward
resolving it in a calm and
spanning different cities and
making sure the operate 15% A COUPLE OF TIMES A MONTH
smoothly,” Maxwell Beehner
of Family Industries says. “It’s
very common for us to have A FEW OF TIMES
31%
to figure some things out in A YEAR

effective manner. Further- real time, but I will usually be

more, instead of letting the point of contact for tech
micro-issues pile up and cre- related issues on site, so we 13% PRETTY MUCH NEVER
ate an anxiety timebomb, it is will use things like FaceTime
best to break them down into to get through these issues
smaller chunks and tackle together as a team!” 0 10 20 30 40 50

MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREEN PRINTING 45

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rithms designed to provoke
emotional responses – will
exacerbate negative feelings
or just arouse guilt over wast-
ed time. In his series of books
on the benefits of doing
“deep work” in an undistract-
ed environment, Cal Newport
makes a strong case for set-
ting strict boundaries around
your phone use (e.g., leave it
in your entry way when you
return home). If unplugging
is unrealistic, use the “mute,”
“block,” “unfollow,” “not in-
terested,” or similar functions
to ensure at least you are the
one in control of the
information flow.
That said, staying on top
of your social media pres-
ence and your reviews is just
part of this industry. One
anonymous Brain Squad
member offers advice
for helping keep things in
perspective: “Give the brain
something else to work on,
like a good book, game night
with the family, or a personal
creative endeavor.”
THE WORD “ROUTINE” can be a pejorative, but it can also be
a mind saver. “Routines help reduce general feelings of anxiety
and are often effective antidotes for those with more serious
mental health disorders,” Charlotte Lieberman writes in the
Harvard Business Review. “Doing the same thing at regular
intervals signals to our brains that we are safe. Call it a routine,
a ritual, an anchor – whatever resonates,” she says.
JOURNAL TO tionary. There is no one set
UNWIND of best practices, but setting
IF YOU HATED doing home- some rough guidelines for
work in high school (or if you regular practice can help. You
work with words for a living), might resolve to do it for six
a writing exercise is probably minutes or for three pages, to
the last thing you want to do it first thing in the morn-
do. However, the psychologi- ing, or to destroy or archive
cal benefits of externalizing journal entries after finishing
thoughts via journaling are them.
well-established, and you Whatever your rules, it’s
may find the results revolu- usually best to keep the
exercise solo. Make it your
own private domain to work
through the thoughts that
may be eating your mind.
“Writing allows us to witness
our thoughts as separate en-
tities, to get them out of your
head,” the clinical psycholo-
gist Nicole LePera, author of
How To Do The Work, says.
“Many of us are living life as
if our thoughts are reality.
Write down all your thought
stream, uncensored. Let
them flow and watch them
leave the mind.”
MIND SWEEP
ONE BRAIN SQUAD member
says writing down everything
that needs to be done and
prioritizing things helps them
be less anxious about the
work ahead.
The organizational guru
David Allen has built a vast
international following with
essentially the same idea:
that getting stuff out of
your head and onto a to-do
list is a path to mental calm
and achievement. “Noth-
ing changes when you write
things down except how you
engage with your issues: You
can be objective and also be
creative and intuitive. Your
head is for having ideas,
not holding ideas. Without
exception, you will feel bet-
ter,” he says.
Allen’s Getting Things
Done system starts with a
“mind sweep:” listing all tasks
and responsibilities. This typi-
cally takes a business owners
about six hours to complete.
The second crucial principle
is what Allen calls “next ac-
tion” thinking. This is his ver-
sion of the homily “A journey
of a thousand miles...,” but it
also encompasses the prob-
lematic issue of prioritization.
Finally, he says a “weekly
review” – an hour or so spent
going over the list of all long-
term projects and short-term
next actions – is a must to
stay on track.
If the very idea of an end-
less to-do list causes you
angst, add a Kanban system
that stores all your to-dos
(aside from the handful
 OV E R CO M I N G A N X I E T Y

you’re working on right now)

DO YOU ALLOW YOUR STAFF TO TAKE MENTAL HEALTH DAYS?
out of sight and out of mind.

ELIMINATE
STIMULANTS 84% YES

IN THE ANATOMY Of
Anxiety, Dr. Ellen Vora uses
the phrase “false anxiety” 16% NO
to encompass the agitated
state that can arise from not
enough sleep, forgetting to 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

eat breakfast, or too much

coffee. An elevated heart
rate, shaking hands, quiver-
If you do allow staff to take mental health days, how many a year are they
ing voice – the general jitters entitled to?
– could be a panic attack,
or it could just be the result l By law in my province, we are required to provide five paid sick days. These
can be mental health days if they want them to be. Matthew Pierrot, GetBold -
of six shots of caffeine. Be T-shirt Printing and Embroidery
aware and cut back on your
consumption. And to the l Unlimited days, but if there are more than five per year we need a note
from a physician. It’s important people seek professional care if the problem is
Brain Squad respondents severe. Anonymous
who jokingly cited drinking
as a coping mechanism: with l All PTO can be used for mental health days should team members feel the
need to take them for this reason. Andrew Monteyne, All-County Apparel
all due respect, that’s likely
not helping either.

LEARN FROM THE writes. “But that wasn’t the

PAST
THE PROBLEMS YOU’RE
experiencing today seem
fraught and important, but
that’s mainly because you’re
so narrowly focused on the
present. This is the reasoning
behind the old suggestion
to ask yourself whether your
worries will matter on your
deathbed, or in a decade. But
you can do better than look
hopefully into the future –
look at the past instead.
Try this exercise recom-
mended by Burkeman: Every
morning, make a brief note of
what feels like your biggest
problem. As the list accumu-
lates, you can review earlier
entries. “Guess how many
months it took for my former
worries to seem laughably
overblown? Five days: that’s
how many months,” he
interesting part: what stood
out was how many times
reality bore no relationship to
anything I’d anticipated. I’d
worry about some event go-
ing badly, but instead of go-
ing badly or well, it’d be can-
celled. I would worry about
how I’d handle some crucial
conversation, but by the time
it arrived, circumstances had
changed, and it wasn’t crucial
at all. My gut feelings weren’t
so much overly negative as
simply irrelevant.”
As Mark Twain so deftly
put it 150 years ago: “I am
an old man and have known
a great many troubles, but
most of them never
happened.”
“We have a client that
ordered several things that
needed to be drop shipped
to Vegas for an event and we

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planned as best as we could,

but a storm went across the
country and delayed several
items about four business
days,” an anonymous Brain
Squad members shares.
“Weather related delays are
something we always discuss
with our clients, but it still
does not feel good when
it happens. We did a lot of
calling, checking tracking
numbers, and rechecking
them for those four days.
The lesson we learned is that
items are being drop shipped
to an event and need to
arrive by a specific date, we
will only offer expedited
shipping as ground is always
the last to make it.”

BATHE IN NATURE
FROM 2004 TO 2012, Japa-
nese scientists spent $4 mil-
lion studying the physiologi-
cal impact of “forest bathing,”
or spending time around
trees. They found it reduces
anxiety, boosts the immune
system, and amplifies feel-
ings of wellbeing. But you
don’t need a forest. Time
spent in any natural setting,
at parks, among animals
(pets or wild), or near bodies
of water can relax the mind.
For that matter, researchers
at the University of Hyogo in attention made by much of anxiety. Focusing on some mind is, that’s the first step
Japan say that simply put- the rest of the world, US abstract element, like your toward not being owned by
ting small plants on workers’ academics Rachel and Ste- breath or a mantra, creates a it,” Harris says.
desks “contributed to their phen Kaplan say. pause between the stimulus In his book, The Unteth-
psychological stress reduc- and the response. Second, ered Soul, Michael Singer
tion regardless of their age or TRY MINDFULNESS more proficient meditation likens the chatter in your
choice of plants.” IT’S ALMOST A point of her- can allow you to examine head to a crazy roommate.
The reason seems to be esy to say you should expect your thoughts more deeply. Through meditation, Singer
related to the way nature ab- something from meditation, “That self-awareness, that says, you eventually learn to
sorbs some of our attention but let’s put that to one side regular sort of systematized see your thoughts as distinct
in an undemanding way. It and consider its two key ben- collision we’re engineering in from yourself. You learn to
gives us “cognitive quiet” and efits for dealing with anxiety. meditation with the voice in tell that roommate to shut
allowing our minds to relax First, meditation helps you your head, that is revolution- up, to start justifying his
as opposed to the relentless, interrupt your thought pat- ary because as soon as you claims, or to dismiss them as
aggressive demands on our terns and break the cycle of start to see how chaotic your a kind of paranoid rambling.

48 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023


PART THREE
BUILDING
REISLIENCE
STAY HEALTHY
DIET, REST, AND exercise.
The science is clear: People
who take care of themselves
are less prone to anxious
thoughts. According to neu-
roscientists at UC Berkeley,
when you don’t get enough
sleep, your amygdala and in-
sular cortex both light up in a
pattern similar to the abnor-
mal neural activity of people
with anxiety disorders.
[Anxiety] affects more my
ability to sleep,” Joe Ortinau
of Ortinau Art says. “This is
actually a recent develop-
ment, too. I have always
been someone that does
not require a lot of sleep, but
when I am not satisfied with
where we currently are with
the numbers at the shop, I
tend to wake up earlier in the
morning. I still get about five
hours in this situation, but I
am much more productive
when I am in the six-hour
range.”
Meanwhile, a large-scale
study of almost 200,000
cross-country skiers found
that being physically active
halves the risk of developing
clinical anxiety over time. The
study, from Sweden, focused
on skiing, but the research-
ers said almost any kind of
aerobic activity likely helps
protect us against excessive
worry and dread.
HABITUATE
EXPOSURE THERAPY is the
full realization of a tip men-
tioned earlier – testing to see
if your thoughts are valid –
but rather than a mind game,
it involves physically con-
fronting your fears. If some-
one gets anxious around
spiders, this method would
entail putting them in in-
creasingly close proximity to
spiders until they learn much
of their fear is unfounded.
For social anxiety, it might
involve something as simple
as going up to 10 people and
asking for the time. Such a
regimen allows you to see
nothing bad really happens
and much of your imagin-
ings are irrational. Habituate
yourself to fear, and it loses
its power and control over
you, Barker says. He calls
such habituation the “gold
standard” therapy for dealing
with triggered anxieties.
TRY TRE
TRAUMA RELEASING
Exercises (TRE) are designed
to help release deeply held
physical and emotional
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE ANXIETY YOU MOST COMMONLY FEEL:
25% A MENTAL DISCOMFORT TRIGGERED BY A SPECIFIC UPCOMING EVENT
67% A MENTAL DISCOMFORT TRIGGERED BY A SPECIFIC UPCOMING EVENT
8% CLOSER TO SOMETHING PHILOSOPHICAL LIKE ANGST OR ENNUI
0 10 20 30
tension stored in the body.
Advocates say TRE helps
to release this tension and
restore balance and wellbe-
ing, improving an individual’s
ability to cope with stress
and reducing anxiety. TRE
might seem a little kooky, but
the evidence is robust. If not
much is working to reduce
your anxiety, you might want
to give it a try. Watch an
eight-minute introductory
video here: screenprinting-
mag.com/anxiety.
BUILD SOCIAL
CONNECTIONS
HUMANS EVOLVED TO be
social creatures, yet much in
modern society – from the
way our cities are structured
to the myth of individualism
to social media – is eroding
the bonds between us at the
cost of our mental health.
Reasserting the primacy of
human connection in your
life – by being deliberate in
creating new friendships, or
by socializing with family and
colleagues outside the home
or workplace – can thus be
vital to not just boosting
mood, but also having some-
one to talk to when you’re
assailed by anxiety. As the
40 50 60
MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREEN PRINTING
OV E R CO M I N G A N X I E T Y
author and anxiety therapist
Mike Shel puts it: “Until a
person feels understood, all
the information in the world,
all the data, all the scientific
understanding of the process
and coping strategies are for
naught. A person needs to
feel that someone gets what
they are struggling with.”
“I think I lived in a per-
petual stress mode for a
few years,” Chessie Rosier-
Parker of Squeege & Ink says.
“Deadlines, money manage-
ment, and other little things
meant I wasn’t able to turn
off the work. Thankfully I had
a business partner join the
business, which forced me
to re-assess workload and
finances to be less erratic and
reactive.”
SHOW
YOURSELF SOME
COMPASSION
ONE BRAIN SQUAD member
says they “mostly have stress
and anxiety related to giving
a customer a specific set of
instructions and then watch-
ing the customer ignore
the aforementioned set of
instructions. I typically cope
with this stress by sending
them a reminder when the
70 80 90 100
49
 G
MIN
O Y
ERC IET
X
OV AN
price increases again.”
Business coach Jerry
Colonna says we’re all try-
ing to manage three basic
risks: to love, to safety, and
to belonging. The existential
fear that these needs could
be threatened is often at the
root of anxiety, he says. “I
know for myself that the fear
of disappointing others is a
threat to my belonging. I’m
not going to be in my family
anymore. My children won’t
love me. My partners won’t
love me. I will be unsafe. I will
be bereft. I’ll be alone in the
woods, fending for myself ...”
And so goes the catastroph-
izing spiral.
The key to dealing with
such irrational thinking is self-
compassion and accepting
the fullness of ourselves. In
his book, Reboot: Leader-
ship And The Art Of Growing
Up, Colonna writes: “‘I am
enough and I’m doing the
best that I can.’ And if I can
say that to myself every day
in one form or another, that
can be helpful.”
To help bring your mind
around to such a perspec-
tive, he recommends
journaling (regularly using
“I am enough” as a prompt)
and metta meditation, aka
“loving-kindness meditation.”
Yes, it sounds woo-woo,
as Colonna acknowledges
himself, but when it comes to
anxiety, we are often our own
our worst enemies because
the primary source of our
negative thinking is ultimate-
ly ourselves.
None of this is to say
anxiety will feel any better.
With evolutionary roots as a
warning system, it will always
feel at least uncomfortable.
Anxiety becomes maladap-
50 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023
tive when it paralyzes. The
answer is thus to appreciate
that we humans are “anti-
fragile” – we strengthen and
grow when challenged.
When we know what’s re-
quired and can marshal the
resources to cope with them,
scary things become chal-
lenges rather than threats.
In the words of the late psy-
chologist Susan Jeffers, “feel
the fear and do it anyway.”
REFRAME
ANXIETY
TECH ENTREPRENEUR Naval
Ravikant has wondered pub-
licly if he would have been
as successful if he “wasn’t
as anxious, because anxiety
comes from fear and it’s also
a motivator. It makes you get
off your butt.” It’s an interest-
ing view and a reminder that
true mental health comes
from recognizing and accept-
ing the complete spectrum
of emotions.
Indeed, when we feel bad,
the answer isn’t to stifle those
emotions or berate ourselves.
“Rather, we need to under-
stand what they’re for,” Dr.
Emiliana Simon-Thomas,
science director at Berkeley’s
Greater Good Science Center
told Time, arguing we should
relate to unpleasant emo-
tions in a way “that’s more re-
storative – more growth- and
learning oriented.” Perhaps
such feelings are signal that
we’re following the wrong
path with our business or
relationships, or we are
distressed about the state of
the world. Instead of trying
to erase this sensation, we
should embrace it, she says,
and view anxiety as a tool
and an ally.
Andy MacDougall of
MacDougall Screen Printing
says he used to “freak when
things looked grim. I’d get
all torn up inside wonder-
ing how we would make the
next payroll or deal with the
bank on our line of credit or
if I could pay my mortgage.
After a few years of this, I
finally realized that for all the
worry and stress, as long as
we were working hard, some-
thing always showed up – a
check or jobs or both – and
I finally just let it go. Not to
say there weren’t situations
that would arise, but once I
realized, ‘Hey, it always works
out’ I just stopped getting
anxious. It was really like a
cloud lifted. With so many
other things going on, the
cashflow situation stopped
being a distraction. Epipha-
ny? I guess. As my childhood
hero Alfred E Newman said,
‘What, me worry?’”
Alicia Borromeo, of
Logowear House says “I’ve
definitely had moments
where a client complained
about something over email
or in person, and it kept me
from focusing on the rest
of my day, or left me para-
noid about simple project
details. I always reference
the episode of ‘Spongebob,’
where he thinks he messed
up a Krabby Patty order and
slowly forgets how to do his
job and every other task in
his life. It takes his boss push-
ing him to go one step at a
time to regain his confidence
and get back on track. Our
management style is a lot like
this: mistakes happen, and
it definitely affects everyone
on the team, but being able
to slow down, take each mo-
ment in stride, and reframe
a problem within a wider
scope really helps bring me
back into focus and move
forward.”

1 Art, Photography, Cad Graphics
2 Curing & Drying Equipment
3 Finishing Equipment
4 Printing Equipment & Accessories
5 Screen and Stencil Making
Equip. & Supplies
6 Inks, Coatings & Chemicals
7 Board & Paper, Foam Center board,
Block Out Board.
8 Garments & Piece goods
9 Heat Transfer Equipment &
Supplies
10 Nameplates, Dials & Sheetmetal
11 Plastics, Rigid & Flexible
12 Pressure Sensitive Materials
13 Misc. Substrates: Magnetic,
Binders, Banners, etc.
14 Testing & Instrumentation
15 Digital Printing Equipment
16 Embroidery Equipment & Supplies
A Distributor
B Dealer
C Branch of National Manufacturer
U.S. DISTRIBUTOR &
DEALER DIRECTORY
HOUSTON
Reece Supply Co. of Houston, Inc.
2602 Bell St., 77003-1753. (713) 228-9496.
(800) 776-0113. Fax: (713) 228-9499. Contact
Labon Tatum. Business Class: A. Market-
ing area served: Regional. Product Cod
es:1,2,4,5,6,7,10,11,12,13,14.
IRVING
Reece Supply Co. of Irving, Inc.
3820 Valley View Lane, Irving, TX 75062.
(972) 438-3131. (800) 776-7448. Fax: (972)
721-1758. Contact: Kelly Leonard. Business
Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional.
Product Codes: 1,2,4,5,6,7,10,11,12,13,14.
SAN ANTONIO

› LOUISIANA Reece Supply Co. of San Antonio, Inc.

4960 Eisenhauer Rd. Ste 110 (78218). (210)
Reece Supply Co. of Louisiana, Inc. 662-6898. Fax: (210) 662-6945. (800) 776-
0224. Contact: Ricky Brown. Business
1017 Dealers Ave., Harahan, LA 70123.
Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional.
(504) 733-7799. Contact: Ronnie Garic.
Pro-duct Codes: 1,2,4,5,6,7,10,11, 12,13,14.
Marketing area served: Regional. Product
Codes: 1,2,4,5, 6,7,10,11,12,13,14.

› MINNESOTA

EAGAN

RhinoTech
2955 Lone Oak Circle, #2, Eagan, MN, 55121.
(888) 717-4466, (651) 686-5027. Fax: (651)
686-9745. E-mail: info@rhinotechinc.com.
Website: www.rhinotechinc.com. Contact:
Todd Michaels, Gregory Markus. Business
Class: A,B. Marketing area served: Local,
Regional, National, International. Product
Codes: 2,4,5,6,9,15

› TEXAS

EL PASO

Reece Supply Co.

1530 Goodyear Dr., Suite J, 79936. › YOUR LISTING HERE
(915) 592-9600. (877) 776-0128. Fax:
(915) 592-9050. Contact: Aaron Wie-
berg. Business Class: A. Marketing Contact
area served: Regional. Product Codes: Vernita Johnson
1,2,4,5,6,7,10,11,12,13,14. (513) 263-9313
vernita.johnson@smartworkmedia.com

MAY + JUNE 2023 | SCREENPRINTING 51

C LASS I F I ED S VERNITA JOHNSON ∕ vernita.johnson@smartworkmedia.com ∕ 513-263-9313

DRYING RACK ALUMINUM SQUEEGEE

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Call 773.777.7100 or • Bases, Uprights, Shelves
sales@awt-gpi.com • Extension Arms & more
HOLDERS & FLOODBARS
For ALL brands of screen
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Call 773.725.4900 or Buy at OEM prices direct
visit www.gpiparts.com from Mfgr.!

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52 SCREENPRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023

 advertising index

MAY / JUNE 2023

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IN OUR NEXT com

URL: awt-gpi.com
runited@hanes.com
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[ PAGE 24, 25 ]
[ PAGE 19 ] com
CLASSIFIED AD BROTHER
[ PAGE 7 ] SAKURAI
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CLASSIFIED ADS [ INSIDE FRONT COVER ] chem.com
URL: shop.kor-chem.
[ PAGE 3 ]

EQUIPMENT ZONE, INC com

WORK! FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ [ PAGE 9 ]
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EMAIL: jay.b@equip- LAWSON SCREEN & EMAIL: marshall@shirt-
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labpro.com
To place a classified ad equipmentzone.com ST. LOUIS, MO
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[ PAGE 51 ]

[ INSIDE BACK COVER ] [ PAGE 5 ] SIGNS365

Contact SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MI
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[ BACK COVER ]

vernita.johnson com com U.N.I.T.E. TOGETHER

URL: heatpress.com URL: printavo.com or
@smartworkmedia.com [ PAGE 11 ] printhustlers.com EMAIL:hello@uniteto-
[ PAGE 29 ] gether.us
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[ PAGE 39 ]
art, ad, or alchemy?

CYCLISTS PEDDLE
SCREEN PRINTING
FUNDAMENTALS
Sharing equipment and knowledge with
your community helps draw a unique
subset of future printers.
By Andy MacDougall

N
OT MANY OF the thousands of read-
ers of “Art, Ad, or Alchemy?” can say
they’ve ridden a bicycle loaded with
screen printing equipment into the middle of
an event, then started laying ink. As a founding
member of Pedal Press (pedalpress.org), Julia
Murphy specializes in doing just that. She says
it’s all part of a belief that screen printing can
offer kids who maybe don’t fit into high school
academics (or even high school) an opportu-
nity not only to learn, but eventually, to earn,
as well.
Although Julia’s work and story are unique, Cathryn, Julia, and Stefanie: The
unstoppable force known as Pedal
this edition of “Art, Ad, or Alchemy?” (the Press. Look out, immovable objects,
column and the associated podcast) touches these three are going around, over,
or through as they bring screen
on the same topics as another recent interview printing into their community.
that got me into a bit of trouble. In episode 13,
I made an offhand comment about YouTube
University graduates maybe not having sufficient skillsets in this industry have used YouTube to enhance their
to walk into a modern production shop and start banging knowledge of screen printing – and to be clear, I think
out prints. that’s great. Everyone starts somewhere, and we should
What I really meant to say is, it takes hands-on all try to encourage those who feel the spark to feed
experience over months and years to be a top- that flame.
Read what the
notch printer: accumulated knowledge and skills, Brain Squad has Julia feels the spark. She’s been feeding the
learned through doing, honed by experience. You to say about You- flame, too – to the point that she’s burning with
Tube University at
can watch it, read about it, listen to it, but until screenprinting- enthusiasm for what screen printing can do for
you start and then continue printing (and get self- mag.com. the youth in Chico, California. As she discusses
critical and dive deep to learn from your mistakes), in the podcast, the Pedal Press team takes bike-
you’re only going to scratch the surface of this crazy mounted equipment into the community with a simple
process. goal in mind: to show people the process, set the hook of
Judging from comments received online, many people interest, and reel them into the industry.
Click the arrow to continue reading the article.

54 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023

would work, and how to engage youth. The actual
project grant will be submitted in June, and they expect to Kids’ designs from the 2022
summer print camp.
hear back in July. They’re confident that because the CCA
funded the planning grant, odds are good that the project
will also be funded.

BRIDGE BUILDING
Julia’s thinking about screen printing would likely resonate
with many of the people we have talked to in “Art, Ad, or
Alchemy?” It’s a bridge between creativity and manufac-
turing, and the end products tend to resonate with youth.
She sums it up this way:
“My work all stems from a place of believing that mak-
ing things (art? crafts? whatever) is good for people and
we should all have ample opportunities to do it. I think that
people have way more creative power than they realize,
and I want to get them to realize it. Screen printing is an
amazing thing – I like to call it ‘antique social media’ – and
you can engage with it on so many levels, from
embroidery hoops and direct-resist-painted-on to all the
mind-blowing tech we just saw [at the Impressions Expo]
in Long Beach.
“And – here is the kicker – after learning the basics, you
can bop off and start your own business. You don’t need
to stand on anyone’s door with your hat in your hand and

beg to be hired – you can hire yourself. I just don’t hear

that message being given in schools, and we are depress-
ing the $&#% out of our students by not giving them that
option, in a variety of ways.”
For Julia, that’s all the more reason to continue pursu-
ing her own credentials as an educator. Specifically, she’s
already halfway through her CTE (Career Technical Educa-
tion) credential (Manufacturing and Product Development,
Graphic Production Technologies). “High schools pretty
much still have welding programs, but as for CTE, that’s
often the extent of it,” she says. “Let’s make sure students
know that a four-year degree isn’t the only option for a
good job/life. I also think the CTE certification process is
needlessly difficult. But that is a whole other story.”

Listen to the complete interview with Julia Murphy in

episode 15 of the “Art Ad, or Alchemy?” podcast.

ANDY MACDOUGALL, ASDPT, lives on

Tom Little of Jeeptrail Print in Chico, California, works with Pedal Press
and Julia Murphy to provide mentoring to youth who have an interest
in screen printing.
an island in the Pacific where he can’t
admit he is retired, so he engages in
random acts of screen printing. He con-
tinues to follow the twisted trinity of the
squeegee, screen, and stencil, watching
and writing and podcasting about its
evolution as both a print and manufac-
turing process. If you have comments, questions, good jokes,
or suggestions for upcoming “Art, Ad, or Alchemy?” podcasts,
send them to andy@squeegeeville.com.

54 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023

 to begin right away. Putting screen printing setups onto
bicycles seemed like a good place to start. “I got my
friend Greg to weld setups onto two bikes for us,” Julia
says. “The first event we live printed at was the Chico Bike
Music Festival in June 2017. We had exposed the screen
in the sun – it seemed like magic that it worked. We were
hooked!”
Pedal Press received a new infusion of talent in 2019
with the addition of Stefanie Prado, a printmaker who
shared space in the studio the women now rent. Mean-
while, Julia has been doing her best to up her screen
printing game and become an even better mentor for
Chico youth. “I thought I was doing OK until I went to
work for Tom Little at Jeeptrail Print (jeeptrailprint.com),
and started to learn how much I don’t know about screen
printing!”

WORKING ON WORKSHOPS
For her part, Cathryn focuses on youth education and
engagement as well as grant writing. The latter effort
recently paid off in a grant from the California Arts Council
to plan a workshop for system-impacted youth. From
One of the trusty bike presses at Stonewall’s Black History Month
Pop-Up. Pedal Press donated time to raise money, printing for there, the idea is to provide an opportunity for a more
Stonewall’s QTPOC fund. formal apprenticeship with Tom (Jeeptrail Print is Pedal
Press’s industry partner for the pilot project). “We can
introduce concepts and get folks into making a print. Tom
FEEDING THE FLAME will refine and expand that,” Julia says. Ideally, other local
Julia is an artist. She’s always been an artmaker, illustrator, screen shops will take on apprentices, as well.
tattooist, and sign painter. She fell in love with this industry “The idea of apprenticeship is so satisfying to me,” Julia
while mixing ink in the early 2000s at The Printed says. “I went to college for a real long time and that way
Image (printedimagechico.com), a custom screen printing of learning – it doesn’t hit the same way that getting your
and embroidery shop. “I kept bugging them to let me on hands in the ink does. Not to say it’s better or worse. Just
the press, but it didn’t happen,” she recalls. So, she went different.”
back to college to finish her education degree. Today, she The current grant is only to plan the project. Right now,
teaches Art at BASES school in Oroville, California, works Pedal Press is assembling a team of youth leaders to help
for a local screen printer two days a week, and does the them figure out how to put the project together, what
Pedal Press stuff in between
those two jobs. Local youth participated in a week-long summer print camp in 2022. They sold their wares at the
Pedal Press began in farmers market and learned a little about the marketing and sales side of the screen printing business.
2017 when she teamed up
with Cathryn Carkhuff, who
ran an afterschool program
called “Prodigies” that
centered around using an
old screen printing press
they found in the building
they were using. With no
background or training in
screen printing, Cathryn and
the youth learned as they
went along.
Cathryn and Julia fanta-
sized about getting their
own space, but they wanted
Click the arrow to continue reading the article.

54 SCREEN PRINTING | MAY + JUNE 2023